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08 Mar 2011

The American Idiot bear, signed by Billie Joe Armstrong, Melissa Etheridge and Tony Vincent.

Broadway Bears XIV, which was held March 6 at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, raised a total of $103,905 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. The cumulative fundraising total for all 14 Broadway Bears auctions is $1,843,977.

The yearly event featured a host of teddy bears dressed as famous Broadway characters, many autographed by the original stars who wore the original (human-sized) outfits.

The top bids for the 2011 auction went to My Fair Lady – Eliza Doolittle, which was designed by Richard St. Clair and autographed by Julie Andrews and sold for $14,000; Into The Woods – Witch, which was designed by Ariel Pellman and signed by Bernadette Peters and Stephen Sondheim and brought in $6,500; Rock of Ages, which was designed by Karl Ruckdeschel and autographed by Rock of Ages Tony Award nominee Constantine Maroulis and sold for $6,000; Hairspray, which was designed by Susan Bolt and signed by Broadway's original Link Larkin, Matthew Morrison, and sold for $5,500; and Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, which was designed by Katie Falk and autographed by Reeve Carney and took in $5,250.

The fundraiser featured bears from such Broadway shows as The Addams Family (signed by Bebe Neuwirth), American Idiot (signed by Billie Joe Armstrong, Melissa Etheridge and Tony Vincent, Hairspray (signed by Matthew Morrison), Hello, Dolly! (signed by Carol Channing), La Bête (signed by Mark Rylance, Joanna Lumley and David Hyde Pierce), A Little Night Music (signed by Angela Lansbury and Stephen Sondheim), The Merchant of Venice (signed by Al Pacino), Million Dollar Quartet (signed by Levi Kreis), My Fair Lady (signed by Julie Andrews), The Pee-Wee Herman Show (signed by Pee-wee Herman aka Paul Reubens) and The Scottsboro Boys (signed by John Cullum, John Kander and Susan Stroman).

Other designs represented shows such as A Day in Hollywood, A Night in the Ukraine (signed by David Garrison and Tommy Tune); Barnum (signed by Glenn Close); Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (signed by Benjamin Walker); Cats (signed by Anna McNeely); Dreamgirls (signed by Jennifer Holliday); Fences; The Girl Who Came To Supper (signed by Florence Henderson); Hair (signed by Kacie Sheik); Here’s Love (signed by Janis Paige); The Importance of Being Earnest (signed by Brian Bedford and Dana Ivey); Into The Woods (signed by Bernadette Peters); La Cage Aux Folles (signed by Douglas Hodge); Legally Blonde (signed by Laura Bell Bundy); Lend Me A Tenor (signed by Justin Bartha, Anthony LaPaglia, Tony Shalhoub and Stanley Tucci); The Lion King (signed by Max Casella); The Little Mermaid (signed by Tituss Burgess); Mack & Mabel (signed by Bernadette Peters); My One and Only (signed by Tommy Tune); Oliver! (signed by Patti LuPone); The Phantom of the Opera (signed by Hal Prince); Private Lives (includes a custom framed autograph from Elizabeth Taylor); Rent (signed by Traci Thoms); Rock of Ages (signed by Constantine Maroulis); Shrek The Musical; Monty Python’s Spamalot (signed by Hank Azaria); Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark (signed by Reeve Carney); Thoroughly Modern Millie (signed by Sutton Foster); Torch Song Trilogy (signed by Harvey Fierstein); and Wicked (signed by Carole Shelley).

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is the nation's leading industry-based, nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grants making organization. By drawing upon the talents, resources and generosity of the American theatre community, BC/EFA raises funds for AIDS-related causes and other critical illnesses across the United States. Since its founding in 1988, BC/EFA has raised over $170 million dollars for critically needed services for people with AIDS and other serious illnesses.

For more information about Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, visit the BC/EFA website at www.broadwaycares.org or call (212) 840-0770.